25 June 2007

What's in a job title? A 33% increase in your car insurance! | Cheap Car Insurance and Home Insurance from Confused.com

New research from www.confused.com - the UK's leading car insurance search engine - has revealed that using alternative ways to describe your occupation could dramatically cut the cost of car insurance, in some cases by almost 33%.

At one end of the scale a legal professional would pay only £376.22 for a Fiat Brava if they were to describe themselves as a 'Lawyer', but if they chose to describe themselves as a 'Barrister', the insurance for the same car would increase 22% to £459 At the other end of the scale a journalist describing themselves as a 'Journalist/correspondent', would pay £282.45 for the same car, but if they called themselves a, 'newspaper reporter' they'd pay £376.22 or 33% extra.

Taking time to check how alternative and appropriate job titles affect premiums could save drivers a significant amount. The following table outlines just a few of the many examples where job title affects premium. All quotes are based on a medium-risk profile - married 32 year old male living in Glasgow, driving a Fiat Brava (full profile available on request):

Occupation	Average premium	Alternative occupation description	Average premium	Average increase
Lawyer	£376.22	Barrister	£459	£83 (22% increase)
Bricklayer	£321.30	Builder	£374. 32	£53.02 (17% increase)
Publican	£294.00	Landlord: licensed premises	£376.22	£82.22 (28% increase)
Journalist/correspondent	£282.45	Newspaper reporter	£376.22	£93.77(33% increase)
TV announcer	£321.30	Broadcaster TV/Radio	£380.02	£58.72 (18% increase)

Data supplied by www.confused.com. Correct as of 11 June 2007.

What's in a job title? Almost a 33% increase in your car insurance!

Commenting on the latest research, Debra Williams, Managing Director of Confused.com, said: 'Insurance premiums are influenced by a host of factors ranging from the number of miles you drive per year through to your job title. Adjusting the way you describe your job can have a surprising impact on premiums.

'The reason for this lies in the fact that insurers essentially keep a record of claims history against specific job titles. It may be a quirk of the statistics, but if an insurer finds a glut of claims associated with a specific job title, anyone with that title is likely to be penalised with higher premiums. This is why it is vital to shop around so that you get a range of prices from different insurers, many of which will have a different claims experience from their rivals.

'Moreover, by considering the different ways in which you can legitimately describe your job and testing the impact of this on your insurance quotes, you can effectively 'massage' your quote to get a more competitive price'.

Confused.com urges motorists not to lie when obtaining insurance quotes or purchasing polices. Providing false information can invalidate a policy and could prevent a claims payout. Not only could motorists end up severely out of pocket, but may be listed as fraudulent on a central fraud database. This could affect an individual's credit eligibility, significantly increase insurance premiums and reduce the number of insurers willing to provide cover.

Useful top tips to help reduce your premiums, include:

• Don't guesstimate your annual mileage. Make a more accurate calculation by comparing your MOT certificates.
• Add an experienced driver who has a full clean driving license and a good no-claims history to your car insurance.
• Increase your voluntary excess. Choose how much to pay upfront should you have an accident. The higher your excess the less your annual policy will cost - however, if you have a high excess, make sure you can afford it should the worst happen.
• Confused.com is the UK's fastest and most comprehensive car insurance search engine, instantly searching and comparing prices from 97 per cent of insurers (51 brands), returning a comprehensive list of fully under-written prices in less than two minutes. On average drivers using Confused.com save in excess of £215*.